Seikan Tunnel, Hokkaido portal, Shiriuchi Town
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01333 ／ しりうちちょう

Hokkaido 上磯郡

Shiriuchi Town

The undersea railway's Hokkaido portal.

Seikan Tunnel, Hokkaido portal

Photo by E3uematsu (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Omonai Shrine

Climb 200 steps behind the shrine hall,and a road runs straight to the sea.

Omonai Shrine in Shiriuchi Town
Photo by Opqr (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Behind the main hall of Omonai Shrine, a long flight of 200 steps runs straight up. The town's official site says that from the shrine at the top you can see the road beyond the steps running in a straight line to the sea. From the neighboring Omonai observation deck you can take in the Omonai plain and the Tsugaru Strait, and in spring a straight road of about 3 km lined with about 500 cherry trees.

  • 200 steps
  • A road straight to the sea
  • About 500 cherry trees, about 3 km

02 ／ Shiriuchi Onsen

Called Hokkaido's oldest by the town,its upper and lower baths differ in heat.

Shiriuchi Onsen in Shiriuchi Town
Photo by Si-take (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The town's official site introduces Shiriuchi Onsen as "the oldest in Hokkaido" and gives its opening as about 800 years ago. According to an old record held by a local shrine, its origin goes back to the arrival of a lord from Kai Province seeking gold dust in 1205, and the founding of a Yakushi hall in 1247 is said to be the start. The Upper Bath is 60.4 °C at the source and the Lower Bath 49.6 °C.

  • Opened about 800 years ago
  • Upper Bath 60.4 °C
  • Lower Bath 49.6 °C

03 ／ Yunosato 4 Site

A pit thought to be a Paleolithic graveyielded a national Important Cultural Property.

Yunosato 4 Site was excavated in 1983, ahead of the construction of the Tsugaru-Kaikyo Line. A Paleolithic pit there is thought to be a grave, and the town's official site says it is about 14,000 years old and regarded as the oldest in Japan. The 14 objects found in it became a national Important Cultural Property in 1991.

  • National Important Cultural Property
  • A Paleolithic pit
  • 14 objects

Shiriuchi Town from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot April 2018)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

15 minutes by route bus from Kikonai Station.

  • about 4,000 people
  • Rural district town

On the Hakodate Bus Kikonai-Matsumae line, the fastest daily bus from the Kikonai Station stop to the Shiriuchi Branch Office stop takes 15 minutes (October 2026 timetable). The town's access guide gives about 17 minutes from the Kikonai Station stop to the Town Civic Center stop.

People living here
4,167people
19952020

−10.4% since 2015

6,150 → 4,167

Area
196.76km²

31.88km² of it habitable

2024

Households
1,868households

2.2 people per household

2020

Rent (average for rentals)
—
Healthcare
0 hospitals ／ 4 clinics

9.6 per 10,000 people

2023

Area196.76km²Habitable land31.88km² ／ 16%
Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103
Children waiting for childcare
—2 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy
—
Average annual temperature
—

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Shiriuchi Town in Japan41.598°N 140.419°E
TokyoOsakaShiriuchi Town
Shiriuchi Town Office
知内町役場2016
  • to KikonaiLocal bus15min

Travel times follow 函館バス『ポケット時刻表』令和8年10月1日ダイヤ改正版（2026年10月1日時点。https://hakobus.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20261001_pocketjikokuhyo.pdf の P138『木古内・松前線 平日・土日祝共通 521・522・523系統』）。木古内駅前→知内出張所は全便15分（6:20→6:35・7:38→7:53・9:00→9:15・11:10→11:25・12:30→12:45・15:50→16:05・18:32→18:47）、逆向きも全便15分（7:35→7:50・8:41→8:56・9:58→10:13・12:16→12:31・13:44→13:59・16:07→16:22・17:21→17:36）。函館バスの2026年度冬期ダイヤ改正（2026/10/1実施・hakobus.co.jp/info/operation/4398）のあとの版。函館・知内線410は木古内駅前→知内出張所が18分（7:58→…）で遅い (checked 2026-10-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Territory of Shiriuchi Town
Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号 平27情使、第585号)

Shiriuchi Town isthis kind of town.

  1. 01The Seikan Tunnel is 53.85 km long and 240 m below sea level, and Shiriuchi Town is its Hokkaido-side portal, with a photo platform beside the national road and a Shinkansen observation tower at the roadside station Michi-no-Eki Shiriuchi
  2. 02Omonai Shrine has a straight flight of 200 steps behind its hall, the town's official site calls Shiriuchi Onsen the oldest in Hokkaido, and the finds from Yunosato 4 Site are a national Important Cultural Property
  3. 03The town's official site says the name Shiriuchi carries the Ainu meaning of "Chiri-ochi" (a place where birds are), and the route bus from Kikonai Station to the Shiriuchi Branch Office stop takes 15 minutes at the fastest

See the town as it is now.

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Shiriuchi Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes

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Next town Hokkaido Fukushima Town →A station once lay beneath the sea.